For The Safety of Bystanders
by Guardian of Hope
Summary: Conner McKnight and his friends journyed to the future. During the course of their time in Corinth, Conner tells Dr K she isn't much of a mentor then tells Hunter "I'm a coach, a mentor and a father". This is the background to that. AU Conner/OFC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers

A/N: Title come courtesy of Lex_Munro from AO3

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><p>Conner rushed into the library, muttering curses under his breath because, of course, he was running late. He paused at the front desk and smiled at the girl sitting there, "Could you tell me where the tutors are?" He asked politely as he adjusted his backpack again.<p>

The girl regarded him over her glasses for a moment then pointed, "Up the stairs, second floor, in the back."

"Thank you," Conner replied and all but ran for the stairs. Long legs and practice made it easy for him to take the stairs two at a time, as if he could possibly make up ten minutes that way.

He hurried across the library to the back, where a woman with a clip board stopped him before he reached the study corrals, "Sir, this area is for tutorials," she said quietly.

"I know," Conner said, he half lifted his hand and sighed, "I'm running late. My name's Conner McKnight." He pulled out the scrap of paper, "I'm supposed to be meeting with Nia Porter?"

"You need to be on time next time," the woman said, making a note on a piece of paper and pointed, "Nia is the young woman sitting by herself."

"I will," Conner replied and hurried across the study area. The girl was pretty in an understated way, with long, dark hair. "Excuse me," Conner said, "Nia Porter?"

"That's me," the girl said and looked up, "the late Conner McKnight, I presume."

"Yeah," Conner replied and slid into his seat, "I'm so sorry. My friend," he paused, unable to help a grin, "my friend just got offered a recording deal out in New York and we got to talking and I lost track of the time."

"Congratulations to your friend," Nia said, "next time, though."

"Next time, I'll be on time," Conner said as he pulled out his text book, "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you agreeing to help me. I have to pass this class."

"If you don't, there's always next year," Nia pointed out.

Conner sighed and tapped his chemistry book, "I know, but, my science teacher was my mentor during my senior year." He half smiled at the thought of Dr O, who had stood over all of them to make sure they got their homework done after training. "I wouldn't have done half as well as I did without his encouragement. He wouldn't really say anything if I failed chemistry, but he'd get this look. Of course, Kira and Ethan would never let me hear the end of it either." He shuddered and pulled out his notebook. "Of course, that's neither here nor there. Please forgive me for being late?"

Nia hesitated a moment and then smiled, "Just this once, Mr. McKnight."

"Please, call me Conner," Conner corrected her.

"Now then," Nia said, "where are you in class and how is it giving you trouble."

Conner leaned back in his chair, feeling a mild rush of relief and flipped open his book to the appropriate page. He could do this, he told himself as Nia looked at his work, _no problem._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers

A/N: I forgot to say it, but this is to be considered part of the Rainbow Brotherhood. It takes place two years after Dino Thunder, during the Mystic Force time period. (This is an important thing to remember...)

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><p>Conner and Nia left the library together, "I can't tell you how much this means to me," Conner said as they walked towards the parking lot.<p>

"I don't mind at all," Nia replied, "chemistry is my strong point." She hesitated, "So when do you want to get together again? Now that we've met, we can set up our own time tables."

"I have chem. on Tuesday and Thursday," Conner said, "so either the day of or the day after would work for me." He pulled a small calendar out of his pocket and began to study it. "Next week, Wednesday and Thursday are free from five o'clock on, but Tuesday, I have a game after class and Friday I'm supposed to do something else."

"Sounds like you have a busy schedule," Nia commented.

Conner smiled, "I'm an assistant coach for one of the club soccer teams around here and that keeps me busy."

"Soccer huh," Nia said, "are you any good?"

Conner shrugged, "I almost played for the Reefside Wave last year. I decided my school work was more important so I played for Reefside High my senior year." He slid a glance over, "Do you play?"

"No," Nia shook her head, "I was a dancer through high school; tap, ballet and jazz to be specific. My brother played though."

"What school?" Conner asked.

"Angel Grove," Nia replied. "Our soccer team was horrible; we couldn't even make it to the district finals."

"Ouch," Conner said with an exaggerated wince. "I can't say I feel the frustration but that has to be terrible."

Nia shot him an odd look, "I suppose you carried your team to state every year?"

Conner shook his head, "We may have gone to state, but soccer isn't about having a single star player and everyone else being mediocre. It's about having people with strengths and weaknesses and being able to use those strengths and minimize the weaknesses to be a team." He stopped talking as they took the stairs down to the student lot. "I won't lie, Nia, I used to be the star player, the 'King of Jocks'."

"What changed?" Nia asked.

"I got detention," Conner replied, "for skipping science class in favor of playing soccer my first day of senior year."

"That changed your attitude?" Nia asked.

"I had detention for a week," Conner said, "and the next day, Mesogog attacked."

"That's right," Nia said, "Reefside had Power Rangers. Didn't your principal get turned into a monster?"

Conner laughed, "Not exactly. I don't know how it happened, but Mesogog brainwashed Elsa Randal and made her his second in command. What actually happened was Dr O was going to intercede for my friend Ethan and walked in on Randal transforming into her Elsa alter ego. Elsa attacked him and they had a full on brawl through the school and out onto the front lawn before Elsa could vanish. It was so cool, I mean, I knew Dr O had been a champion martial artist in high school but it was another thing to watch him take on our evil principal like that." He stopped, "Here's my ride," he said, running a hand over his car.

"Nice," Nia said, "my jeep is over there." She pointed across the row to a burnt orange jeep with a black cloth top.

"Cool," Conner said, "ever go topless?"

"Every chance I get," Nia replied with a grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers

A/N: This references Red Fraternity Chapter 13.

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><p>Conner met Nia a week later a much different person than he'd been before. "Is something wrong?" Nia asked after fifteen minutes of Conner's monosyllabic answers to her questions.<p>

Conner shrugged, "Well, I did something really stupid this weekend." He stared at the library table for a moment, "See, I made a new friend with this guy and we kind of got drunk together."

"I can see why you would call what you did stupid," Nia said solemnly.

"It gets worse," Conner told her, "because we kind of got arrested too."

"How do you kind of get arrested?" Nia asked.

"When you get arrested for public intoxication and indecency and your mentor's best friend who is the worlds most awesome lawyer ever gets you out of it with a fine and a warning," Conner said after a long moment.

Nia whistled, "That's a good lawyer. You didn't get a minor in position charge?"

Conner shook his head, "We're both, barely, old enough to drink…in California." He toyed with the corner of his notebook for a moment, "It's just that I was finally starting to prove that I can do good in school without Dr O and Hailey hounding me to do my work and I pull this. Not only that but Mr. Lee Scott is someone I'd like to impress."

"Lee Scott," Nia said, "you mean _Jason_ Lee Scott?"

"Yes," Conner replied cautiously.

"You do know people," Nia replied, "he's one of the best young lawyers in Angel Grove, and I heard he does work for the government."

"Yeah," Conner replied, "I know, he's great."

"How do you know Jason Lee Scott?" Nia said.

"I told you, he's Dr O's best friend," Conner replied, "They've known each other since high school. When I called Dr O to keep my parents from finding things out, he called Mr. Lee Scott for a favor."

"Then who is Dr O?" Nia persisted.

"Tommy Oliver," Conner said hesitantly, "but you probably don't know him."

"Of course I do," Nia said, "he was quarterback for the football team and he was the only person who could tie Jason Lee Scott in karate. After Jason Lee Scott went to the Peace Conference, Tommy Oliver was part of every community project until he graduated. Those two and their friends are the epitome of community spirit at Angel Grove High School _to this day._ People have tried, but no one has pulled off the variety of activities they did. I tried with a couple of my friends; we couldn't do it for a full semester without dropping our grades."

"To be fair," Conner protested, "Dr O and Mr. Lee Scott had Billy Cranston as a friend. Dr O said that Cranston was the smartest guy in two galaxies. He probably helped them with their grades."

"You really look up to them, don't you?" Nia said after a moment.

"Dr O is my mentor," Conner replied firmly, "and Mr. Lee Scott is a good role model. I'm not going to be a scientist or a lawyer, but ten years from now, I'd like for someone to say that I set a good example too."

"What do you want to do with your life?" Nia said, "I know you said you were studying Kinesiology and business."

Conner hesitated for a long moment, "I want to start and manage a state wide soccer program dedicated towards teaching kids about teamwork, discipline and hard work rather than winning and championships. America as a nation is becoming the overweight capital of the world and the best way to counter that it to start with children. I want kids to learn about friendship and trust in an environment where they don't have to be afraid. I want one kid from the worst parts of town to have somewhere to go that doesn't have drugs or violence or an early grave at the other end. One day, I want some kid who believed more in paper angels than Santa Clause to sit in a university library with a pretty girl and talk about changing the world and how his mentor showed him it was possible. One day, I'd like a daughter who wasn't afraid of her own strength and a son who could be friends with a jock and a nerd and never wonder what color skin they had. One day, I'd like to foster a kid, not a baby, but one whose been through the system a few times and prove that not all foster parents are tyrannical idiots in it for the money." He blushed and looked away, "I guess you can say that I want the world."

Looking at him, Nia honestly believed that Conner McKnight could do everything he claimed he wanted to.

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><p>AN 2: Paper Angels is a reference to the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program wherein after Thanksgiving in malls across America there are Christmas trees set up where a person can adopt an angel make sure a child, teen or senior has a gift for Christmas.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: While Nia is my character, I lay no claim to Power Rangers by any stretch of the imagination.

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><p>Nia's life settled into a very nice routine as time went on. Besides the chemistry tutoring, Nia found herself invited to a soccer game one weekend and they met with friends of Conner's for drinks on a Tuesday. She introduced him to her friends and Conner was nice to them and charming, but it was her he turned his warmest smiles on. It had been three weeks, and the midterm that Conner somehow managed to ace, before he surprised her.<p>

They were leaving another soccer game and Conner had looked at her for a long moment, "What?" Nia asked, ducking her head to hide her sudden flush.

"I was just thinking," Conner said, "I found the most spectacular Italian restaurant and I really don't want cafeteria food today. Would you like to go out with me?"

Nia smiled a little shyly, "I would love to," she said.

Conner grinned, then frowned, "Are you hungry now? Because we can go now, like this, it's a casual place."

"Go change," Nia told him firmly. "The food will be there when we get there."

"Great," Conner said, "why don't I pick you up, in two hours?"

"Sounds like a plan," Nia said, and pulled the keys to her jeep from her pocket. "You know where my dorm is."

"Two hours," Conner said.

"Yup," Nia replied. As she climbed into the jeep, she reflected that his nerves were almost cute.

She had just finished getting dressed when someone knocked on her dorm room door. Frowning, Nia called, "Just a minute," before finishing her makeup.

When she opened the door, she found herself face to face with a curly haired blonde she had seen before in photographs. "Are you Nia Porter?" She asked.

"Yes," Nia said hesitantly.

The girl smiled, "I'm Kira, Conner's friend from high school. He asked me to come over here to ask if you can give him some more time."

"What's going on?" Nia asked.

"Nothing major," Kira said, "some of us dropped by to get Conner's help. He knows some people that we wanted to meet." She gave Nia an almost savage grin, "I also wanted to say that I don't know what plans you have involving Conner. I'm not asking for a detailed, five year plan. I just wanted to meet you because Conner doesn't fall in love easy and his last girlfriend, his last _real_ girlfriend and not a girl of the week, basically yanked his heart out and stomped on it. Now, Conner likes you, and while yes, I take credit for getting him to realize girls can be friends too, he's dancing on the edge of falling for you. If you don't want that, if you can't say right now that you aren't willing to have that possibility, that you only want things casual, I need to know."

"You came here to protect Conner," Nia said carefully.

"Yes I did," Kira nodded, "because he's my friend even when I want to kill him. Before you start thinking love is involved, I assure you, I am happily involved with someone and the idea of dating Conner has been known to make me physically ill." She paused, tilting her head a little with a slight smile. Then she blinked and focused on Nia, "So, do I need to start preparing to ease Conner away from date like thoughts, or not?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Nia said. "I never thought of it that way. I like Conner, don't get me wrong, but I don't know him very well." She paused, and thought of Conner in the library and his grandiose dreams. "I think I'd like to get to know him better though."

Kira smiled brightly, "Excellent. Just so you know, though, if you hurt him I won't kill you. I will, however, right a vicious song about you and put it on my album."

"Don't worry," Nia said, "save for an evil spell or alien brainwashing or something, I have no intention of deliberately hurting Conner."

Kira raised an eyebrow, "Interesting quantification."

Nia grinned, "Well, I am from Angel Grove."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer; I don't own Power Rangers.

A/N: I have not lost track of this. I've just been distracted, sorry.

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><p>When Conner finally arrived, Nia gave him a look, "Where have you been?" She asked.<p>

Conner blinked at her, "I was introducing my friends from high school some people I know here. I'm not sure why it couldn't wait, but Trent insisted and Ethan threatened to blackmail me, so I did it. I'm sorry; I did ask Kira to let you know."

Nia smiled, "She did. Then she asked me about my intentions and said if I ever hurt you she would write a vicious song about me for her album."

Conner groaned and face-palmed, "She's like a mother bear," he muttered, dropping his hand.

"She said your last girlfriend hurt you," Nia replied, "Maybe she has a right to be protective."

Conner stared at her for a long moment before his growling stomach became audible. "Let's go eat," Conner said, "and I will tell you about Christa."

The restaurant was quaint, with candles on every table. They were lead to a small table set to one side of the front window and presented menus. "This place is nice," Nia said after studying the menu. "Expensive."

Conner hummed for a moment, "Don't worry about it," he said, "I wouldn't have invited you if I couldn't afford it." The waiter returned for their orders and as Conner handed over his menu, he said, "Let Curtis know that Conner McKnight is here, please, and says hello."

"Of course," the man said and vanished.

Nia tilted her head a little, "You know the chef?"

"The owner," Conner replied, "it's a long story and I've already promised you a different one."

"About Christa," Nia agreed.

Conner sighed, "I've known of Krista for a while, she was Reefside High's resident environmentalist. This was during my shallow but getting deeper stage, mind you. I went after her because she was hot and I got her interested by pretending to care about her cause to save this one-hundred year old tree. For some reason, Mesogog went after the tree and it was destroyed in the process, but I apparently impressed Krista, because she went out with me a few times after that. I'm still not a hard core environmentalist, but Krista really opened my eyes about a few things. When she agreed to go to prom with me, I won't deny it, I did think about what kind of future we could have."

"What happened?" Nia asked.

"Krista decided Greenpeace was her future and moved to Amsterdam," Conner replied, "when I told her I was more interested in helping people become better people; she dumped me." He ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck, "Krista hurt me, yeah, and she was my first serious girlfriend so I took it hard. However, I wasn't in love with her and if she showed up tomorrow looking to get back together, I wouldn't do it. I have a different perspective now on where I am in life versus where I was back then."

Nia looked at Conner for a long moment, studying him, "You don't sound heartbroken," she admitted.

Conner shrugged, "I have good friends who were willing to beat me upside the head with my own stupidity. Thanks to them, I have a better perspective of things. Besides I didn't want to be Dr O to Krista's Kimberly anyways."

"I'm sorry?" Nia said.

Conner blinked, and a brief look of panic flickered over his features, "Uh, Dr O had a high school girlfriend, Kimberly Hart. He told her to follow her dreams to become a gymnast and move to Florida. She dumped him in a Dear John letter before going on to become a gold medalist. I just meant that I didn't want to encourage my girl to go after her dreams only to get a Dear John letter while I'm picking out engagement rings for her."

"Oh," Nia replied, "I understand." She leaned back to let their waiter present their food.

"Curtis will try to come by and say hello," the man told Conner, "however, he says that even if he doesn't you and your date will receive a Rainbow discount."

Conner sighed, "Thank you," he said, "tell him it's not necessary."

"He insists," The waiter replied, "he says that if you do not accept, he will come by the table and share the story of the oak tree."

"No, that's ok," Conner said, going from mildly irritated to panicked, "we'll take the discount."

"Very good sir," the waiter said and left.

"What was that about?" Nia asked.

Conner shook his head, "It's an exceptionally embarrassing story that I'm sure you'll hear of at some point, but I'd rather not be there, or sober, when you do."

Nia chuckled, "Didn't you learn your lesson about drinking already?"

"Now you know how serious I am," Conner replied. He pointed, "How's your dinner?"

Nia picked up her fork and took a bite, when she swallowed, she gasped, "That is so good."

"I know," Conner said with a smile, "the chef comes from a long line of Italian cooks."

"The chef comes from Italy," an older black man said as he came up beside Conner. "Hey man, how are you doing?"

"Curtis," Conner said, "I'm good. This is Nia Porter, my friend from Angel Grove. Nia, this is Curtis Taylor."

"Nice to meet you," Curtis said, "I hope you enjoy everything and hey, desert's on the house."

"Curtis," Conner said.

"You can't deny me," Curtis said, "I have Tommy on speed dial." He turned and walked over to greet another diner.

Conner scrubbed his face and looked at Nia, "So, tiramisu?"

Nia giggled, "It's like dating a guy with an older brother," she said, "You get to hear all the embarrassing stories."

Conner picked up his water glass, "I told you, I don't want to hear it unless I'm drunk." He paused, "On second thought, I think I'd rather be on another planet when they get around to those stories. It'll be less painful."

"Careful what you wish for," Nia replied, "you might get it."

Conner snorted, "Don't I know it." He picked up his fork and began to eat.

Nia smiled and began to eat as well, Conner was a funny one sometimes. There was a secret there, one he wanted to tell her, but wouldn't. He often distracted her with other things, but he was a little too obvious. For now, she was willing to humor him, after all, they'd only known each other for three months; there would be plenty of time to dig out every secret he had in the future, for now he could just keep telling himself that he'd managed to distract her. Nia put those thoughts out of her mind, because this was really good food, and good food should never be ignored.

The Tiramisu was fabulous, and Curtis swung by again to talk with them. When he found out Nia played the trumpet, they spent all of desert talking music and bands. Conner seemed a little left out, but he had this little smile on his face as he watched them. When they left, Conner clapped Curtis's shoulder lightly, "You are a lot like your cousin," he said simply.

"Thanks," Curtis said, he looked oddly proud, "he's my favorite cousin."

As they left, Conner turned to Nia, "What did you think?"

"I liked the food," Nia said, "and I especially liked Curtis. He's a good person."

"I know," Conner said. They drove back to the campus and when Conner parked at her dorm, he looked oddly nervous. After a moment of deliberation, he rested his hand on her shoulder, "Nia," he said.

"What?" Nia asked, even though she had a very good guess about what.

"Slap me if I'm being too forward," Conner said before leaning forward to kiss her.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer; I do not own Power Rangers.

A/N: For info on Sam Oliver, she appears in 'Wedding Bells' and 'Dear Tommy' (sort of). I considered upping the rating, but I don't think I should have to...if you disagree let me know and I'll up it. Also, Kai is from Courtship of Kai aka Kai from Lost Galaxy. Am I the only one who could see him tearing people new one if he had to and be good at it? "Postage stamp apartment" just means that it's really (really, really, really) tiny. Like the size of a stamp.

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><p>Dating Conner was a lot like being friends with him, in that you never really knew what was going to happen but it was always going to be fun. Nia had expected to be wined and dined on the way to a bedroom, but Conner wasn't like that. Although she had somewhat discouraged him before the Christmas break, when they met up again, Conner actually seemed reluctant to go farther than making out. A few times, he seemed about to try something, and she wanted him to, but he would back off at the last moment.<p>

One night, when they were at her postage stamp apartment, kissing, Conner's hand slipped off her shoulder and down her back. He immediately pulled back, "Is something wrong?" Nia asked, tired of the evasions, she was going to get to the bottom of things.

Conner blushed, "No, I," he stopped, "I'm trying not to pressure you or force things."

"Really?" Nia replied.

"Yeah," Conner replied, "I know this guy, he's with a man who is asexual, and this really hot chick. Sorry. Anyways, the asexual guy, he was at the New Years Eve Party and I guess someone said something and he just tore the whole room a new one. He said that romance wasn't about ending up in bed with someone; it was all the things people skipped over to get to the bedroom. The thing is Kai, that's his name, Kai; he damn near shamed every single guy in the place, and about half the married ones. It really made me think about what I was doing with the girls I dated. You matter to me, Nia; I didn't want you to think I was only after that."

"Only?" Nia repeated dryly.

"Well yeah," Conner replied with a shrug, "I'm not saying I wouldn't want to, I just don't want that to be the total sum of our relationship."

Although Nia made a joke at the time, it really showed her a lot about Conner in that moment. The athletic student she had stereotyped the first time they met had a lot of depth that she'd never expected to find. He was, as her mother would say, a catch.

Of course, being Conner, the decision to move forward in their relationship was subject to Murphy's Law. It was another Friday night, in her tiny apartment, a candle light dinner and more after, with Conner talking about his dream of getting an apartment in the fall if he could afford it. Then Conner's phone rang, not the usual ring tones that Conner answered or ignored on a whim, but a very simple, somewhat catchy, series of six beeps that drained all the color from Conner's face. "I'm so sorry, Nia," he said and stood up, "I have to take this outside, keep eating."

Nia watched him step outside, and toyed with her lasagna as she waited.

Ten minutes later, Conner walked back in, distracted, and worried, "Nia," he said.

Nia stood, "Is everything ok?"

"That was my friend Trent's dad, Anton Mercer," Conner said hesitantly, "I have to go back to Reefside in the morning."

"What happened?" Nia asked.

"Doctor O, Tommy Oliver," Conner began and stopped, closing his eyes tightly for a moment, "He just heard that his wife, Sam, died. She was a soldier in Iraq."

"Oh," Nia said, she reached for Conner, who clung for a brief moment as if she was saving him, and then he relaxed. "I didn't really know Sam," he admitted, "She was overseas during my senior year, and then she stayed around because she was pregnant with Lexi and Leigh. I'm just the closet person to Reefside right now. I'm going to go up and look after the twins until one of Doctor O's older friends can get there. Jason's got this big case; he can't leave Angel Grove, Trini's at a medical conference in England. Adam and Tanya have a family issue. No one can contact Zack, but Angela promised she'd try. Kimberly has a meet, she can't even think about flying out before Monday. Kat can't fly because she's pregnant; Aisha needs a week or more to get through customs. Who knows what Justin will do, but I wouldn't count on him doing anything. Billy and Rocky need travel time to get back. Trent and Kira are in New York, but their spring break is in a week and they were flying back anyways, Ethan is in Japan, semester abroad. Hailey is probably worse off than Tommy is right now because Sam was her sister. Mr. Mercer is leaving tomorrow for some botanical conference that he can't get out of, Ms. Randall will be going with him."

"I understand," Nia said, touching Conner's lips with a single finger. "You don't have to keep babbling at me. Let's reheat your dinner and finish eating. Do you want me to come with you?"

"That's ok," Conner replied, "Doctor O is very paranoid about who gets near the twins and I don't want to put any more stress on him by meeting you now." He hesitated, and then kissed her lightly, "If you wanted to do something, if I'm needed to stay past the weekend, maybe you could pick up my assignments next week?"

Nia smiled, "Sure thing, Conner."

Watching Conner leave later that evening, knowing that he'd probably drive straight to Reefside as soon as he'd packed, Nia couldn't help the feeling of admiration that crept through her. Conner was, by his own admission, a reformed shallow jock. Whatever he didn't talk about his senior year, Conner was a good man. As she cleaned up from dinner, Nia wondered if he'd ever consider her worthy of dropping everything to help.

When Conner got back on Tuesday, he met her after her last class holding a beautiful red tulip, "Hey," he said, offering it to her.

"Hi," Nia said, "thank you for the flower."

Conner blushed, "My friend suggested it," he replied and kissed her cheek. "I have a question."

"Yes?" Nia asked, looking up at him as she delicately sniffed the tulip.

"Will you come to the funeral with me?" Conner said, "I-I know a lot of people who will be there, but I don't want to go alone."

Nia kissed his cheek, "Of course, Conner."

"Great," Conner replied with a shy smile. "It's not how I planned for you to meet everyone, but we can't predict these kinds of things." He paused, "Oh," he said, "and there was something else I wanted to ask."

"Yes?" Nia said.

"I have to go to a wedding next month, and I'm going to need a date," Conner said. "It's in Angel Grove."

"Do you need a date or a place to stay, Mister McKnight," Nia said archly.

"Just a date," Conner said firmly, "I already have a place to stay lined up." He slipped his arm around her waist, "I know Kira made a big deal about it, and so if you need to know, the wedding colors are green and yellow."

"I guess I'm going to have to go shopping then," Nia said.

Conner hesitated, "Can I make a weird request?" He asked finally.

"What is it?" Nia replied.

"Remember that orange dress you wore for our dinner out two weeks ago?" Conner said, watching her cautiously. "If you don't want to wear that particular dress, could you wear one like it?" He rolled his eyes a little, "My friends are color crazy, and if you wear orange, or brown, or tan, they'll be less likely to try and include you in the crazy side of things."

"Orange, brown, or tan," Nia repeated.

Conner shrugged, "You could wear red," he said, almost casually.

"What does that mean?" Nia asked wearily.

"That we're together," Conner said. "You don't have to, I know it's weird of me to ask, but it would mean a lot."

"Conner, are you keeping secrets from me?" Nia asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Conner said, "but only because I have to." He brushed some hair off her face, "Maybe, I can tell you in the fall, Nia. I know we've only known each other a few months, but sometimes when I look at you all I can see is forever."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer; I do not own Power Rangers.

A/N: This doesn't really fit the prompt beyond my own thoughts as related to it. However, I'm going with it. Also, fun tie in stuff...just to prove it's Brotherhood related still. For more info on Tony, check out the not canon Samurai series. References child abuse non-graphic, non-descriptive.

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><p>The Wedding, for in Nia's mind it gained capital letters over the following month, was apparently for friends of Conner's that were Tommy Oliver's classmates. Conner was vague on how he'd met them, but he was fairly frank on why they were getting married now, with two kids already. "They want to adopt a kid from Adam's karate school," Conner told her as they were setting up for one of his free soccer classes. "His name is Antonio, and he's being abused. He only has his dad and his granddad, but Mister Garcia is the one abusing him and Grandfather has Lou Gehrig's and can barely tend to himself anymore much less take on an abused twelve year old. State says if Adam and Tanya get married, they'll at least let them keep fostering Antonio. Garcia can still get custody back if he sobers up and gets a job, but Adam and Tanya don't think it'll happen."<p>

"I feel sorry for Antonio," Nia said, "but that's wonderful of Adam and Tanya. Why haven't they gotten married before anyways?" She put down the cooler of drinks she'd been carrying and stretched slowly. Her job during these classes was to handle drinks and first aid, providing a second 'responsible adult' if anything happened. Mostly it was an excuse for her to watch Conner run around in soccer gear. It surprised her, because she wasn't the athletic sort, but Conner had a way of wearing athletic clothing that made her heart pound and her breath catch. He was the only man who could do that, she'd checked around a little, and it just added to the mystique of her red clad boyfriend.

Conner shrugged as he opened the bag of soccer balls, "It's kind of a religious thing, they don't believe in God, there for the spiritual side of marriage is pointless for them. They chose to swear Life Vows before Paul was born, and it's been enough for them. Unlike Jason and Trini who had to go through the whole government rigmarole because Jason might run for office, Adam and Tanya didn't need the hassle until now."

"How do you feel about marriage?" Nia asked.

Conner flushed, "Well, I always figured I'd get married, it's what Earthians do and all, but I don't know that the religious part means much of anything to me. That Astro Ranger, Andros, he did an interview about it once, about how only places like Earth, that are isolated, have religion. Most planets trust in the Power that makes Rangers and its influence. I've seen the Power in action; I've never seen God do much of anything." He glanced at Nia, "How do you feel about it?"

Nia shrugged, "My parents are Roman Catholic, but I'm with you. God hasn't done much of anything, but the Power has. I'd probably do the church wedding though, for my parents. Mom's a good Irish Catholic girl and Dad's from Boston, Irish-American. They don't quite understand my indifference to religion."

Conner grinned a little, "My parents are Jewish, actually. I had the whole Jewish faith childhood, Chanukah, Bar Mitzvah, the works. Dad's grandparents are from Europe. Grandpa came over with his uncle right after Hitler invaded Poland, but Grandma didn't come over until after." He hesitated, absently touching his arm, "She didn't have an easy time of it." He seemed to shake himself, "Mom is from Israel, she and her sister came to America because of all the unrest. Aunt Raisa went back, but Mom married Dad and stayed. They're all very disappointed in my lack of interest in Jewish faith, and Grandma keeps trying to introduce me to the 'Good Jewish Girls' who board with her and Grandpa for college."

Nia giggled, "I can just imagine. Would you have a Jewish wedding then?"

"Nope," Conner replied, "I'd hope my girl would agree to a Justice of the Peace, outdoor wedding with no religion mentioned at all. I'd sell it as being inoffensive to all religions. Then, if either set of parents pitch too much of a fit, we could renew our vows after five years with a ceremony of the appropriate religion."

"You've thought about this a lot," Nia said.

Conner shrugged, "Eric probably isn't going to get married, ever, so I have to do something. I just don't want my mother to plan the entire thing." He pointed, "The kids are here, thanks for helping me set up."

He kissed her lightly then jogged off to round up his kids while Nia took a seat on the bench beside the cooler. Conner was both the simplest and most complex person she knew. On the one hand, he was easy to understand. The kids he was now leading in a soccer drill had been hanging around the Y, watching the soccer practices, but each one had been unable to pay for one reason or another. Conner had gotten a friend of his to 'loan' him the soccer equipment and now taught those kids to play twice a week for free. He'd met all their parents and established a verbal and written agreement that he was not to be held libel for injuries in the course of each practice, and was even talking about a match between his 'clinic' kids and his team at the 'Y' to prove that they weren't any different.

On the other hand, Nia had never expected Conner to bring up a Jewish history, but he'd been so matter of fact about it, she had to believe him. In addition, he'd talked about getting married, not as a 'one day' thing, but as a 'this is what I planned' thing. Nia couldn't deny that she'd often wondered about her wedding, but couldn't imagine standing still for the full Catholic ceremonies her cousins had held. In her mind, she could picture Conner's wedding perfectly, it felt right.

Her stomach lurched and Nia pressed her hand against it for a moment. She'd been feeling queasy off and on for a few days, probably catching one of the stomach bugs that were always floating around kids. She reached into the cooler and pulled out her Coke, hoping the liquid would help her stomach settle. Conner was taking her back to Curtis's restaurant tonight, and she'd rather go there than spend a night at the campus medical center with Conner hovering over her.

Unfortunately, the Coke didn't work this time, and Conner did insist on taking her to the medical center after his clinic was over. He pointed out that if it was a bug, he could call Curtis and get her some soothing food to eat at her place and the night wouldn't be a complete loss, but they'd know.

So off they went to the cold and sterile medical clinic, where an indifferent med student guided her through the usual testing methods. Then, while Conner called Curtis about dinner to go, Nia got dressed and sat on the exam bed to await the first results.

Conner had already come back, and was promising her the best homemade chicken soup ever when the med student came back. "Ms. Porter," he said.

"That's me," Nia replied, reaching over to take Conner's hand. Something about the look on the med student's face made her suddenly feel nervous and she wondered if it was more serious than stomach flu.

"I don't know if you're going to consider this good news or bad," the student said, "but according to our tests, you're pregnant."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

A/N: I'm sorry about the delay, I was having creative issues.

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><p>Conner paced around Nia's living room, "Your dad," he announced after a long moment, "is going to kill me." He'd said the same thing, or similar statements, already a few times since they'd gotten there.<p>

"I don't think he will," Nia said from her seat on the recliner. Conner had driven her home carefully, and so slowly that she'd almost threatened to get out and walk. Then he'd vanished to get the food from Curtis and the prescriptions from the medical center, mostly prenatal vitamins.

"Nia," Conner said, "I just got your father's _baby girl_ pregnant. He's going to kill me." He sunk down to the floor beside her chair, "I am so sorry, Nia." His brown eyes looked so sorrowful that Nia honestly felt that even if she had been mad at him, that look would have melted her heart.

"It's ok," Nia said, amazed at her own calm in the face of Conner's panic. "I'm not mad at you. I didn't exactly lie there and think of England." She raised a single eyebrow at Conner sardonically.

Conner paled, then flushed, "Yeah, but," he jerked himself to his feet, running both hands through his head. "I'm a dead man."

"You aren't going to run, are you?" Nia asked.

Conner turned, "Run? Me? No way. I'm not going to abandon you."

"Whoa," Nia said, holding up her hand, "Its ok. I know you won't abandon me, Conner. You're a better man than that."

Conner relaxed, "What are we going to do?" He asked softly.

"I'm not getting an abortion," Nia said firmly. Conner sank down on the couch and closed his eyes. "I want to finish college," she added.

"We can figure something out," Conner said, he shifted back to kneel beside her chair. "I know there's a solution to this."

"First," Nia said, "let's figure out what we're going to tell people. My parents and yours."

Conner's face hardened, surprising Nia, "Let's wait to tell my folks. They are _not_ going to take it well and things between us aren't on the best of terms anyways." He smiled a little, "Eric's going to be thrilled, I can't wait to tell him."

Nia smiled back at him, "We can tell my parents at the wedding, since you'll be meeting them then anyways."

"Oh God," Conner said, and the panic was back. "This was terrifying enough before. I'm a dead man."

"No you aren't," Nia told him. "I'll tell them before you get there, yes, but everything will be fine." She shifted, "Now, what about the funeral this weekend? Are we telling anyone anything?"

Conner shook his head, "No. We'll let them meet you first."

"Will they be ok with me," Nia said, with a trace of anxiety.

"They'll love you," Conner replied firmly. "I know they will." He paused, "But before I forget, again, it's not exactly going to be a funeral." He shifted back on his knees, "Sam's being buried on the family plot in Oregon or Washington somewhere. This is more a memorial for Tommy. The Victors, Sam's family, don't like Tommy; it's a long story and kind of stupid to boot. The deal with them is that Sam's parents won't go for custody of the twins if Tommy lets them bury Sam up there. There's more to it than that, but essential, we're going to help Tommy out. First with everybody to distract him and then," Conner paused, "some of us are taking him away for a weekend. I'm supposed to go, but if you want me to stay."

"What kind of weekend?" Nia asked.

Conner grimaced, "Probably one full of alcohol, I won't lie. The guys, well, none of them are actually alcoholic, there are _rules_ about it." For a brief moment, Conner flushed looked irritated and embarrassed. Nia was reminded of the weekend binge he'd gone on the semester before and wondered if those rules had had some effect on Conner's choices since then. "And stuff like this, it's sort of a 'we're all men together' thing going." He paused, "Like I said," and now he sounded almost hopeful, "I won't go if you'd rather I stay here."

Although she was tempted to urge him to go, Nia also wanted to keep Conner close. She decided that she couldn't be mean and make him go, and so brushed a little hair out of his face. "I would like you to stay," she said, "but I don't want to deprive you of hanging out with your friends."

Conner stood and kissed her cheek, "You are as gracious as you are beautiful," he told her solemnly before heading for the kitchen, "Want something to drink, Nia?"

"Tea please," Nia replied, "in a glass."

"It was one time," Conner called back, "one time I just brought you the bottle. I won't forget."

"Not while I'm here to remind you," Nia replied. She waited until Conner came back with the red punch he favored and her iced tea. "I was thinking," she continued, "remember how you said you wanted an apartment next semester?"

"Yes?" Conner asked slowly.

"Maybe we could go in halves on a place together," Nia said, "I'd like a bigger place than this and you need someone to split the rent."

"What, and live in sin?" Conner asked lightly, with the little wink he used to prove he was teasing.

"Something like that," Nia replied.

Conner took a long swallow of his drink and nodded, "I could see that happening, Nia. I mean, I don't think we'll end up by killing each other."

"Of course not," Nia replied, "then who would warm my feet when it's cold outside?"

Conner gave her a shy smile, "Do you want a foot message before you go to bed?"

"That sounds like heaven," Nia admitted even as she began to stand up.

They shifted around so that Conner could message her feet and Nia could relax on the couch. Conner had something of a knack for foot messages, Nia had learned. He always knew just the right gesture to achieve total relaxation. Nia reached over and grabbed the TV remote. "Let's see where they're shopping today," she commented as she turned the TV on. Then she settled back to watch.

House Hunters was one of her favorite shows, because of the way it introduced new cities to her and gave her the opportunity to dream about buying a house of her own. Conner let her watch it, occasionally joining in the debates about which house they should chose and agreeing on the inability of realtors to provide houses that met budget if nothing else.

Nia relaxed, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that Conner, as normal as he was acting, had something on his mind. He slid little glances her way even as they studied and critiqued bathrooms, and kitchens or compared room sizes. Whatever was going on in his mind, Nia knew that it was something more than the baby she was carrying in her stomach. Reminded, Nia touched her belly delicately, marveling at that a brand new life lay inside of her, growing, and that one day it would be a person, able to talk, walk, and _live_. Conner was giving her a soft smile when she looked back up, then reached to rest his hand on her belly, a silent commitment to the life within and the future before them. _Be strong little one,_ Nia thought, _grow well. We're waiting to meet you when you're ready!_


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer; I still don't own Power Rangers

A/N: I was struggling so hard not to make this all about some joke, given that it was the memorial for Sam Oliver. There were a few slip ups, but mostly I managed. Justin's issues was mentioned in After Blue. They wouldn't talk around Nia because she is a stranger to all of them and Justin's issue was an intensly private one that shouldn't be discussed in front of a stranger.

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><p>"What about Jenny?" Nia suggested as the car pulled to a stop in front of a building.<p>

"Maybe not," Conner said after a brief moment. "Come on, I told the gang we'd meet here."

Nia slid out of the car, "What's wrong with Jenny?"

Conner smiled, "Just a woman I know of, very strong reputation. Our daughter deserves her own name." He shut his door and gestured, "Welcome to Hailey's Cyber Café; home of misfits and teens in Reefside."

Nia laughed softly, "It's certainly an interesting place."

"It's better inside," Conner replied, catching her hand. They walked over to the door and Conner pushed it open. "I spent the better part of my senior year here, between studying and Kira playing. It was essentially my home away from home."

"I can imagine," Nia replied as she looked around the converted warehouse, "it looks like a teen hangout."

"Conner!" A blond blur burst out from behind the door and collided into Conner, resolving herself into Kira.

"Hey Kira," Conner said, awkwardly patting her back and sneaking a look at Nia. Nia covered her mouth to hide her grin. "You remember Nia, right?"

"Yes," Kira said, stepping back, "of course." She pulled Nia into a quick hug, "Thank you for coming, Nia. I like your dress."

Nia glanced down at her black dress, "Thank you," she said, "I like yours too."

Kira smoothed the black dress with its yellow accents, "Thanks. Ethan and Trent aren't here yet, but Hailey gave me the key. She's already up at the house."

"Who all is coming?" Conner asked.

"Jason, Trini, Kim, Zack, Adam, Tanya, Kat, even Rocky, Alia and Billy are there," Kira replied, "Pretty much everyone but Justin."

"Surprise, surprise," Conner said, sounding almost bitter.

"Conner," Kira said, "don't talk like that. Justin's position on things is just as valid as your own. Besides, Justin's in the hospital, Conner."

"What happened?" Conner asked.

Kira glanced at Nia, hesitating, "Is there a bathroom?" Nia asked, before either of them could speak up. "Conner didn't stop on the way down."

"Sure," Kira said, looking relieved, "it's right over there."

Nia hurried into the bathroom, wondering who Justin was. She understood why Kira wouldn't talk about what happened in front of Nia, a stranger, but she could only hope that it wasn't something terrible.

Freshened up, Nia came out of the bathroom to find Conner sitting on the ground, looking utterly stunned while Kira knelt, hugging him. "Conner?" Nia asked.

"Nia," Kira said turning.

Conner was white as a sheet with a look of stunned grief on his face. "Are you ok?" Nia asked, hurrying over.

"He will be," Kira said, "I didn't want to shock him like that, but Conner isn't always tactful."

"Are you sure Justin's ok?" Conner asked as he reached for Nia. She took his hand and tried not to wince as he squeezed it.

"He's fine," Kira said firmly. "They'll take care of him, Conner. Mr. Stewart already spoke to Trini about what needed to be done on his end."

The door to the café opened with a cheery jingle of bells, "Hi guys," someone said, "Conner, are you ok?"

Nia looked up to find two young men standing in the doorway, one was African American, and the other was Hispanic. "I told him about Justin," Kira said.

"Oh," the African-American said, "uh hi?" He looked at Nia.

"I'm Nia," Nia said, "Conner's girlfriend."

"Oh, you're_ Nia,_" the pair exchanged glanced, "I'm Ethan," the African-American continued, "This is Trent."

"Hi," Trent said. He glanced at his watch, "I hate to say it, but we need to leave soon if we're going to be on time."

"What?" Conner said. He was still pale, but Nia relaxed to see life coming back to his face, "Right," he glanced at Nia as he released her hand, "sorry Nia."

"It's ok," Nia replied as she stood up and moved back. Kira followed her after a brief moment of studying Conner.

"I'm ok," Conner said, "it's just, I never thought, even Justin wouldn't do that."

"He'll get better," Kira said firmly. "With or without us, Conner, he will. Doctor O needs us now."

"Right," Conner replied and got up, "besides Nia, am I driving anyone?"

"No," Ethan said, "I have my own car."

"I'm with Ethan," Trent said.

"Me to," Kira replied. She walked over and kissed Trent's cheek. "We'll see you at Doctor O's, right?"

"Absolutely," Conner replied, taking Nia's hand.

Doctor Oliver lived in a modest, white, two story home that backed into the forest. Its long drive way was in good use with a number of cars already parked in the drive way. "I guess we're last in," Conner commented. He turned to Nia, "I hope you don't feel left out, Doctor O's friends are pretty insular. I've let them know I was bringing you and everything, but if you're uncomfortable, let me know. I'll leave early if you feel like you need it."

"Ok," Nia replied, unwilling to admit that she already didn't want to be here.

They headed up the drive way, catching up with Conner's other friends at the steps to the porch itself. "Ready?" Conner asked, looking at the others.

"Ready," the three said in unison, while Nia just squeezed his hand.

They went up the stairs in a unit, "Oh," Conner said, "the twins?"

"Tori offered to baby sit," Kira replied, "since she's not attending this. They're over at Hailey's for the time being."

"Right," Conner said, and reached out to ring the doorbell.

The door was opened by a pretty woman in a simple black dress with red accents, "Conner?" She said after a moment.

"Hey Alia," Conner said, "They put you on the door?"

"I was simply closest," Alia replied, looking at Nia.

"This is Nia," Conner said, "my girlfriend. Nia, this is Alia, her husband is Rocky DeSantos, one of Doctor O's friends."

"Please to meet you," Nia offered.

"And you as well," Alia replied, stepping back and opening the door. "You are the last of the expected then. There are refreshments in the back yard, but Conner, Jason wished to have word with you."

Conner swallowed a little, "All right."

"Nia," Kira said, "let's go get something to drink."

Nia looked at Conner who nodded, "its ok, Nia. He probably just wants to lecture me about that stunt from last semester and I'd rather not be humiliated in front of you just yet."

Nia smiled a little, "All right," she said and nodded to Kira.

The back yard was filled with older people, all of whom were dressed in dark colors and talking quietly. "I'll introduce you around," Kira said, "come on."

Nia followed Kira over to where a small group of women was talking; they all broke off as Kira approached, "Hi," Kira said, "everyone, this is Nia, Conner's girlfriend. Nia, this is Trini, Kim, Aisha, Tanya, and Kat."

"Hi," Trini said, "thank you for coming with Conner."

"It's no problem," Nia replied firmly. "Conner was badly shaken when he heard; there was no way I was going to make him drive up here all alone." She turned a little to the others, "I'm just sorry we had to meet like this. Conner doesn't speak of any of you often, but he's spoken highly of you when he does."

"On the other hand," one of the African-American women, Aisha she thought, spoke up, "Conner never shut up about you. I talked to everyone by Skype for New Years, and he spent most of his time telling me about this wonderful woman he'd met."

"He did," agreed the other African-American, "he was so happy."

Another woman joined the group, "Hey love," Aisha said, putting her arm around the woman's waist, "is everything ok?"

"There is a line to the bathroom," the woman said in a beautifully rich accent. "I will try my luck again in a few minutes."

"I told him he was crazy to buy a one bathroom," one of the others said, "Even when it was just Charlie and I, we needed a second bathroom. With two kids being potty trained and one just out of it, I'm not sure if two is enough, especially with two girls." That would be Kim, Nia thought, the gymnast.

"Peter and I," the final one said, in an Australian accent, "always argued about that, before. Men just don't see the practical side of things."

Kira nodded, "Anton got the lofts for me and Trent, and there wasn't anything in Trent's half bath until I stocked it myself."

"Conner's afraid to go in my bathroom," Nia admitted after a brief moment, "I think it's because of all the products I use."

"I'm sorry," Aisha said, "Kamaria this is Nia, her boyfriend was one of Tommy's special students from his first year. Nia, this is my partner, Kamaria."

"Pleased to meet you," Nia said politely.

"The pleasure is mine," Kamaria replied.

"Ladies," a man said, stepping up beside Tanya, "Rocky was wondering where Alia is?"

"She answered the door for us," Kira said, "Mr. Park, this is Conner's Nia. Nia, this is Adam Park, Tanya's husband."

"Nice to meet you finally," Adam said, "I'd better let Rocky know, thanks Kira." He was gone as fast as he'd appeared.

"Have you heard anything new about Justin?" Kim asked suddenly, looking at Trini. "I mean, like when he's getting out?"

"No," Trini replied, "but John promised he'd call as soon as he knew anything."

Kira cleared her throat, "Nia, there's someone I want you to meet over here."

"Ok," Nia said, letting herself be drawn away from the conversation about the mysterious Nia.

The next group Kira took her to was larger than the other group had been, and they all noticed when Kira and Nia approached. "This is Nia," Kira said, "Conner's girlfriend. Nia, this here is Zack Taylor and his wife Angela." Nia nodded at the pair, "Billy Cranston, Charlie Johannason, and David Trueheart." She waved a little. "You already know Ethan and Trent. Jason and Rocky are probably with Doctor O."

"They are," Billy said, "We're just trying to keep him sober for another hour."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem," Kira said dryly.

"So Nia," Angela said, "what do you do?"

"I'm just a student," Nia replied, "and I'm the first aid slash drink provider for Conner's charity soccer team."

"What are you studying?" Charlie asked politely.

"Biochemistry," Nia replied, "my minors are biology and genetics."

"Sounds like a heavy course load," Charlie replied.

"It can be," Nia said, "last semester and this one have actually been pretty light, mostly my labs and independent studies. I overloaded last year on courses and almost had a nervous breakdown. I'm trying not to repeat that this year. Of course, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met Conner either."

"Really?" Zack said.

Nia shrugged a little, "Conner needed a tutor for his science class, so he wouldn't disappoint his mentor, Doctor Oliver. I was his tutor. Things just went on from there." She frowned at Zack for a moment, "You have a cousin named Curtis, don't you?"

"Yeah," Zack said, clearly startled, "how did you know?"

"He owns the best little Italian place," Nia replied, "Conner takes me there every chance we get, it's our favorite restaurant in Turtle Cove."

"Oh," Zack said, "I forgot he was there, actually."

"There's Tommy," Billy said, "I guess they got him moving."

Nia turned with everyone else. Tommy Oliver looked older than the pictures Nia had seen at Angel Grove High, not just in years, but it was as if his grief had added years to him. He was dressed in a somber black outfit, and squinted against the sun. Conner flanked him on one side, and a taller man that Nia recognized as Jason Lee Scott stood at his other side. Conner spotted her just as Nia saw him and he gave her a little smile, then glanced at Lee Scott, who was speaking. Conner nodded after a moment and headed over to Nia. "Everything ok?" He asked as he reached her.

"Yes," Nia replied, "Zack and I were just talking about Curtis."

"Good," Conner said nervously, "good; that's good." He slid his arm around Nia's shoulders, "Hi everyone."

"Conner," Billy said shortly.

"I'm not drinking today," Conner protested, "I have to drive back tonight." He looked at Nia, "I swear, you get drunk around someone one time and they never let you forget it," Conner muttered. "It's not like Doctor O hasn't done worse."

"You're just lucky Eric and Taylor aren't here," Zack replied, "Taylor still hasn't forgiven you."

Conner winced a little, "Taylor and Vida both want to kill me," he said, "and I'm not the only one responsible. I wish they'd share the negative attention a little."

"I'll tell them you said to," Trent said, "Nick to."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I still don't own Power Rangers.

A/N: Sorry guys, I've been sort of sitting on this for a month. Long story. Also, Thanks Tatood Libraian for the beta!

* * *

><p>Nia paced in the living room nervously as she watched the clock. Conner was going to be here soon and she already knew that things were not going to go well. Her dad had not taken the news of her pregnancy well, especially since Conner hadn't asked her to marry him yet. Her mother had only frowned and said the name sounded familiar to her.<p>

"Nia," Regina Porter said coming out of the kitchen, "you need to calm down."

"I am calm," Nia lied with a trembling smile.

"Liar," her mother said lightly, brushing some of Nia's hair out of her face. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Dad," Nia admitted. "He's been so mad at me for all of this, and at Conner."

"Don't you worry about your father," Regina told her firmly, "he's not going to do anything horrible to your boyfriend. I won't let him."

The doorbell rang, "That must be Conner," Nia said, she spun and headed for the door as her dad came down the hallway. Taking a deep breath, Nia swung the door opened, "Hi Conner," she said cheerfully.

"Nia!" Conner said brightly, he offered her a pink rose, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Nia replied, taking the rose. "Come in, there are some people who want to meet you."

For a brief moment, Conner's smile faltered, then he took a deep breath and stepped forward, "Let's do this."

Nia led Conner into the living room where her parents waited, "Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Conner McKnight. Conner, this is my dad, Walter, and my mom, Regina."

"Mr. and Mrs. Porter," Conner said, he offered his hand to her dad, "it's nice to meet you."

Nia glanced at her mother, who chuckled, "Oh we've met before, Mr. McKnight, though I doubt you remember it."

"We have?" Conner asked.

"Last semester," Regina replied, "in Angel Grove Park."

"Oh shit," Conner said, "you were, I mean, I was." He stopped as Regina chuckled again. "I have no excuse beyond it seemed like a good idea at the time, ma'am. And at the time, I was drunk."

"I remember," Regina replied.

"Mom," Nia said, "you arrested Conner? Why didn't you say something?"

"Arrested?" Walter asked, looking between the three of them.

"My drunk and disorderly," Regina told him, "last year, he and his friend were naked in the park, fighting. The interesting part was that we never found his clothes."

"I never did either," Conner admitted, "but the guy I was with, my friend Nick, we were kind of celebrating." He paused, "He'd been looking for his birth parents, you see, for years and he found them. I just kind of forgot that when I drink I like to... travel."

"If you came down from the university," Nia said, fighting a smile of her own, "that's certainly some traveling."

Conner blushed an insanely bright red, but managed to smile, "So, two black marks and I've barely been here ten minutes," he stated, "I guess asking to speak with you, Mr. Porter, in private as soon as possible would be a little much?"

"I would not mind speaking in private, not at all," Walter replied. "Come into the backyard, Regina and I were planning to grill tonight."

"This is not going to end well," Nia muttered, watching the two of them leave.

"I don't know," Regina replied, "I think getting things out in the open now will go a long way towards getting Conner on your dad's good side. Come into the kitchen, we can put your rose in a vase and get things ready for the grill."

When they sat down to dinner at the outdoor dining area, Walter and Conner were, if not best friends, certainly getting along better than Nia had hoped. Her mother, however, was a different story. "Conner," she said as she passed him the corn, "I do have a question about last year."

"Ok," Conner said looking concerned, "I'll try to answer as well as I can."

"Your arrest record, it's clean now," Regina said. "I checked it earlier this year when Nia told me you were dating, and it's like nothing happened. My Lieutenant told me to back off when I mentioned it, that someone with a higher authority had taken over."

"That," Conner said reluctantly, "I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't?" Regina asked sharply.

"Can't," Conner said firmly. "There's a non-disclosure agreement with my signature and a promise of a very long time buried so far in the prison system that I'd be lucky to see freedom before I became a grandfather myself." He passed the corn to Nia and continued, "On the other hand, because of that NDA, I also have a possible future in the government should I want it. Between that, the Silver Guardians, and my friend Trent's dad, there are job opportunities all over the West Coast."

"What sort of job opportunities?" Walter asked.

"For me? Military and paramilitary," Conner admitted, "I'm not much for science and math, but the physical work is something I've always been good at. Trent's dad is Anton Mercer of Mercer Industries, though, and he mentioned to me that if Nia was still interested, then he'd be happy to have her as an intern this summer. When they met last month at Sam's memorial, Anton was very impressed. When Anton's impressed with an intern, things can end up being very interesting."

"What about your education?" Regina asked.

"Well, with the NDA job, I'll get college credit through my work. With the Silver Guardians, they'll pay for me to take up to six credits a semester in class, or twelve on-line." Conner shrugged a little, "It's been implied that both BioLabs and the other job would be able to find an opening for Nia too if she's so inclined."

"Conner," Nia said quietly, "why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because I didn't know," Conner replied, "Doctor Oliver helped me work all this out while you were here. I didn't tell him about the baby, Nia. I just met Wes Collins, the co-commander of the Silver Guardians, over at Doctor Oliver's house and he made the offer to me, and mentioned you. Since his dad owns and runs BioLabs, it's a fairly solid offer."

"Those are fantastic offers," Nia told him, "but I don't understand why."

Conner squirmed and stared at his plate, "I can't tell you," he said quietly. "I want to, I really do. I just, I have to justify it to some people before I can."

"Justify it?" Regina asked.

"I'll have to tell them about Nia's pregnancy," Conner said slowly. "That should be enough for her to be read in." His cell phone went off, the six tone beep that Nia had heard only once before. "Excuse me," Conner said abruptly, "I have to take this." He stood up, pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked away.

"Are you sure about him?" Walter asked, "He seems to have a lot of secrets."

"He does," Nia replied, "but he's worth it. He's smart, funny, and incredible with his kids. He's going to be a wonderful father, and if he can pull it off, he'll be an even better coach."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Regina said gently, "we're worried about you."

"Conner promised," Nia told them both, "he said he'd tell me everything as soon as he could. If it weren't for the government, he'd already tell me." She glanced over to see Conner was standing at the far end of the yard. "I think it has something to do with the Power Rangers that were in Reefside two years ago, or the ones in Blue Bay Harbor the year before that. Conner's twin, Eric, goes to a private school in Blue Bay while Conner lived in Reefside. But please, don't say anything to him. He could get in a lot of trouble I think."

Her parents nodded, and Regina jerked her head slightly. Nia turned to find Conner walking back towards them, looking exceptionally pale, "Is everything ok?" Regina asked.

Conner blinked and frowned, "Yes, it's fine," he said. "Everyone's at the hotel and they thought they'd lost Lexi and Leigh, Doctor Oliver's children. They found them thankfully. Their babysitter wasn't paying attention and the twins decided to 'go find Daddy' and ended up wandering around the hotel. Kira thought they were going to need me back there to help the search is all."

"Kira?" Regina asked.

"She's one of my best friends," Conner replied, "kind of like my quirky sister. We went to school together, but now she's working on becoming a famous rock star. She's in town for the wedding."

Taking a helping of potato salad, Nia added, "I like Kira, her and her boyfriend Trent are a very sweet couple."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers

A/N: This one is going to be slow. I lost the muse for a bit, but I'm getting my feet wet again. Thanks to Tatooed Librarian for the beta yet again!

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><p>Nia arrived at the hotel early the morning of the wedding, she was supposed to meet Conner and ride over to the park with him after breakfast with Conner's friends. To her surprise, however, Trent was waiting for her in the lobby. "Nia," Trent said.<p>

"Good morning, Trent," Nia replied with a shy smile.

"Conner's running late," Trent said as he toyed with his white tie, "he asked me to let you know that he hasn't completely abandoned you, he just overslept."

Nia chuckled, "That's fine, I'm not mad."

"That's a pretty dress," Trent offered.

"Thank you," Nia said as she smoothed the skirt nervously. She'd ended up choosing a red dress with Conner's approval. "I must say, when Conner mentioned you'd be wearing a white suit jacket, I didn't realize you'd pull it off that well."

"Come on, Kira and Ethan are holding the table," Trent said with an easy gesture, "Conner will be down soon enough. He was already out of the shower when he texted me."

"Lead the way," Nia said.

Kira was already dressed for the wedding in a bright, yellow dress, while Ethan wore a more traditional suit with a navy blue tie. "Nia," Kira said with a grin as they came closer, "how have you been."

Nia smiled back as she took a seat across from the other girl, "I'm good. Not as nervous as I was earlier this week."

"Then your parents like Conner, that's good. I know Conner was in knots about the whole meeting," Kira said.

"Given the circumstances," Nia replied, "my parents were cautiously accepting. I think they just needed to adjust to the idea that I wasn't going to marry my high school boyfriend."

Kira chuckled, "Since I probably will, I don't have room to talk." She leaned over to kiss Trent's cheek.

"What did you mean," Ethan said, "given the circumstances."

Nia blinked, "Conner didn't tell you?"

"Tell them what?"

Nia jumped and looked up to find Conner standing by the table. "I thought you might have told your friends already," she said simply, dropping a hand to rest on her belly.

"Oh," Conner said as he sat down beside Nia, "that, no. I haven't said anything because I knew you wanted to talk your parents around first."

"Tell us what?" Ethan asked.

"I guess we have to now," Nia said as Conner kissed her cheek.

"Kira," Conner said, "Ethan and Trent. You are officially the second group of people that know this." He slid his arm around Nia's shoulders.

"I'm pregnant," Nia said.

Kira squealed, "Congratulations!"

"Wow," Trent said.

"Congrats," Ethan said.

Nia smiled, "Thank you." She leaned against Conner, "I'll confess, we didn't tell anyone before mostly because we wanted to talk to my parents first and the funeral just didn't feel like the right time."

"You haven't told Eric, have you?" Kira asked Conner.

"I did," Conner admitted.

Nia chuckled, "They were on the phone the day after we found out."

"Do you know the gender yet?" Trent asked.

Nia shook her head, "It's not far enough along yet," she said. "Although my doctor says it's possible that I'm going to have twins. She couldn't make that determination yet."

"You didn't tell me that," Conner protested.

Nia smiled at him, "My parents insisted I go to the doctor earlier this week with them, to make sure. Doctor Jones told me it was a possibility."

"Then it's double congratulations," Ethan said, "but we're going to need to eat if we're going to make it to the church on time."

Nia accepted the menu Ethan offered her and opened it, then closed her eyes for a brief moment. "I'm not sure I'm going to eat anything," she said, "my stomach's been a little touchy lately."

Conner touched her shoulder, "Are you ok?"

Nia smiled at him, "It's probably just morning sickness is all."

"Try some ginger ale," Kira said, and blinked when everyone looked at her. "What, I know stuff," she said defensively, "Ginger ale and maybe something cold, like dry cereal would probably be best."

Nia nodded a little, "Ok, Kira," she said.

"So," Trent said, "inquiring minds want to know, Conner."

Conner groaned, "What now?"

"Are you two going to get married?" Trent said.

Conner jerked a little and Nia glanced at him, "He hasn't asked."

Conner glanced down at her, "I didn't want to trump the wedding, love."

"I understand," Nia said, "this is Adam and Tanya's day."

"But," Ethan began.

"I'm going to talk about the NDA," Conner said, "for her parents as well as Nia."

The waitress then and collected orders and menus with a smile, "Hey, it's Doctor O," Ethan said.

Nia turned to spot the older man approaching their group. "Morning Doc," Conner said as the other man came into earshot.

"Good morning, Conner," Doctor Oliver replied, his eyes flicking to Nia.

Compared to the haggard man Nia had seen a month ago, Tommy Oliver looked like a man older than his years, with sadness in his eyes, but not so rough, as he'd seemed at his wife's funeral. "Doctor O," Conner said, "this is Nia, my girlfriend. I don't think you two actually met at the memorial."

Tommy nodded a little, "It's an honor to meet the woman Conner never shut up about."

Nia blushed, "I would say the same, sir, but Conner is always very careful about what he tells me. I think I know more of your exploits at my alma mater than I do from Conner."

"Your alma mater?" Tommy repeated.

"Angel Grove," Nia said, "Class of 05."

"I'm sure there were other notable students after me," Tommy objected.

Nia shook her head, "No one has ever made a big an impression as you and your friends did. You set the standard of achievement. Although, I do believe your football records were beaten."

Tommy laughed, "That wouldn't be too hard, after Jason left we just didn't have the right kind of leadership."

A beautiful, red haired woman came into the restaurant, "There you are Tommy," she said briskly. "Tori just took the twins over to Tanya's place. I really hope she's being paid well for this. Your friends just got in with Billy. We have half an hour before you need to be at Jason's house. Are you going to eat here or on the way?"

Conner grinned and ducked his head down to speak into Nia's ear, "That's Hailey, Doctor O's sister-in-law. She runs his life for him."

Nia smiled a little, "He needs looking after then?"

"Doctor O?" Conner chuckled, "He's the original absent minded professor. He actually postponed a test once because he forgot to bring it with him."

"Conner," Tommy said, "please wait until I'm not around to lambaste my competence?"

"I was just providing Nia with examples," Conner replied, "she's a scientist; she needs data to compile a theory."

"Touché," Kira said with a grin, "Doctor O gets five points, but Conner gets an extra two point five for context." Catching Nia's puzzled look, she added, "It's called Word Wars. They try to see who can come up with the most sophisticated sounding word in a plausible statement. Doctor O thinks our vocabulary is deplorable and instituted the game as a way to better us, as well as giving us bonus points on our tests back in school."

"Sounds like fun," Nia said. "Is there a drinking edition?"

"Of course," Kira laughed, "you can play it by numbers, a shot for every word, or by ranking. That is, you switch types of alcohol for how 'sophisticated' or 'well presented' your word is."

"That really sounds like fun," Nia admitted.

"I'll teach you the rules after the wedding," Kira offered, "our food is almost here."

Tommy nodded to them and allowed Hailey to draw him away and around the waitress.


	12. Chapter 12 (Part One)

A/N: Part one of two very difficult chapters to write. To remind people, my policy is that if you think you know something, or want to know something, ask. If the answer is a spoiler, I'll give you then warning and if you STILL want to know, I'll tell you. Thanks as always to Tatooed Librarian for the beta!

* * *

><p>The wedding had been beautiful, Nia thought, even if it had been unexpected. The Parks had brought in some sort of spiritual leader who had mixed what Nia had expected in terms of vows and 'kiss the bride' with instructions on how to treat one another and the 'paths we all must travel'. From the way Conner had held her hand and stared at the woman, he had understood a lot more than Nia had.<p>

Sitting at the reception, however, Nia had something else on her mind; namely the fact that her stomach had not settled down from her morning sickness and was not happy with her. Finally, after a particularly painful cramp, she turned to Conner, "I'm going to the ladies' room; I'll be back."

Conner touched her arm, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Nia assured him.

/…\\

Kira leaned against Trent with a smile, "It was a beautiful ceremony."

"That it was," Trent agreed. "I couldn't believe there was a Bondsmith already on Earth."

Kira chuckled, "As many refugees as we've had? There are three here to take care of those who want to legally acknowledge their bonds."

"Hey Kira," Conner said.

"Hey Conner, are you enjoying the wedding?" Kira asked.

"I would be," Conner replied, "but I think something's wrong with Nia."

"What do you mean?" Kira asked, sitting up.

"She's been in the bathroom for almost half an hour. Would you go check on her?"

Kira smiled, "Sure, Conner. She's probably just having another bout of morning sickness."

Conner smiled back at her briefly and ran his hand through his hair, "I'm sure it's something like that, but I'm just worried."

"I'll be right back," Kira said, she kissed Trent's cheek and headed for the bathroom. Behind her, she could hear Rocky calling for attention, no doubt ready to give his speech. Instead of stopping, Kira pushed the door to the bathroom opened, "Nia?"

"Kira?" Nia replied, sounding strained. Kira didn't see Nia, but there was a single door closed.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked, walking over to the close door.

"I don't know," Nia replied, "I think something's wrong."

"What's going on?" Kira asked, leaning against the door.

"I'm bleeding," Nia said, "and it's not a good place for blood."

Kira closed her eyes, "Will you be ok while I get some help? Dana, one of the guests, she's a doctor."

"Ok," Nia said after a moment, "hurry?"

"Of course," Kira replied. She stepped back and hurried out of the bathroom. Conner was hovering by the door, "Conner," Kira said, hesitating for a moment.

"Is Nia all right?" Conner asked.

Kira took a deep breath, "Do you know where Dana is?"

"Why?" Conner demanded, "Kira is Nia all right?"

"I don't know," Kira replied. "That's why I'm looking for Dana. It could be nothing to worry about, but Dana will know."

"I think she's at her table," Conner said, he glanced at the door to the ladies' room.

"Look," Kira said, "go get Trent and Ethan for me, ok? Try not to get attention from the wedding party, all right?"

"Ok," Conner said.

Kira re-entered the reception and glanced around. Dana was sitting with Carter at their table, talking to Adam's sister Jill. As Kira approached, she heard Jill, "So how do you know Adam and Tanya?"

"Adam worked for Lightspeed for a while," Dana replied, "before the morpher project went active. He was part of the test pilot program and we would spar every now and then. We've kept in touch since, in fact."

"Hey Dana," Kira said as she approached.

"Kira," Dana said cheerfully, "How are you doing?" She turned to Jill, "Have you met Kira, Jill?"

"We did," Jill said.

"I don't mean to be rude," Kira said, "but Dana, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," Dana said, standing up, "Is something wrong?"

Kira gestured, "I'm hoping you can tell me." She headed for the bathroom, as they left the room, Kira turned to Dana, "Conner's girlfriend, Nia is in the bathroom," she said. "She's pregnant and bleeding."

Dana raised her eyebrow, "You know I'm not an OB/GYN."

"I know," Kira replied, "but if you could talk to her, please."

"I will," Dana said and headed into the restroom.

"I found them," Conner announced, followed by Trent and Ethan.

"What's going on?" Trent asked.

Kira smiled, "Dana's talking to Nia." She linked arms with Trent and Ethan, "You are going to distract Conner until Dana comes back out."

"You could do that," Ethan began.

"I'm going to go sit with Nia," Kira replied, "she needs female support right now."

The door to the bathroom opened before Kira could reach for it and Dana stepped out, looking worried. "Conner, do you have your car with you?"

"Yes," Conner replied.

"I don't think it's anything serious," Dana said, "but I'd feel better if we took Nia to the hospital."

Knowing that Conner was possibly too shaky to drive, Kira reached into Conner's pocket and pulled out his keys, "I'll drive you and Nia. Trent, bring Conner?"

"Sure," Trent said.

Nia came out of the bathroom looking pale, "Conner?" She said.

Conner blinked, "It's ok, Nia. I'm sure everything will be ok."

Nia smiled a little and nodded, "Ok."

"Come on," Dana said, "let's get going." Kira offered her hand to Nia, who gripped it tightly.

"I'll let Carter know," Ethan said. "I'll meet you outside, Trent."

Kira barely remembered the trip to the hospital after that. Nia had been silent the whole trip, and Dana had only spoken quietly. Kira let the two out at the door, and then drove to find a parking spot, where Trent, Ethan and Conner met her. "I called her father," Conner said, looking pale but calm. "He's on his way."

Kira nodded and the four headed into the ER. Kira approached the desk, "Can I help you?" The nurse asked as Kira came to a stop.

"A young woman just came in," Kira said, "Nia Porter? She was with an older woman." Kia nodded, "This is her boyfriend and we're friends. Do you know where she is, or where we can wait to find out if she's ok?"

"The girl who came in with Dana Grayson?" The nurse asked.

"Yes," Kira said.

"I can't let you back there," the nurse said, "but there's a waiting room just down that hall."

"Ok," Kira said, "Nia's father will be here soon."

"I'll tell him where you are," the nurse replied.

"Thank you," Kira said with a smile.

Ten minutes later, a tall, dark haired man strode into the waiting room, "McKnight," he said.

Conner lifted his head from Kira's shoulder, "Mister Porter," he said, standing up. "Did you hear anything?"

"No," Mr. Porter said, eyes on Kira.

Kira smiled and stood up, "Mister Porter, I'm Kira Ford, Conner's friend. This is my fiancé, Trent Mercer and our other friend Ethan James. I'm sorry that we have to meet in this manner."

"Right," Mr. Porter replied and gave her hand a brief shake.

"Conner," Dana called as she came into the area with another doctor beside her.

Conner turned, "Dana, this is Nia's father."

Dana smiled, "Mister Porter, I'm Doctor Dana Grayson; I was a guest at the wedding. This is Doctor Reed, he treated Nia."

"How is she?" Mister Porter asked.

"Nia will be fine," Dr Reed replied, "she experienced a great deal of bleeding, but we've managed to stop that." He hesitated, "However, that's not the extent of Nia's problem."

"What happened?" Mister Porter asked.

"I'm sorry," Dr Reed said, "but Nia experienced a miscarriage. She lost the baby."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Part two. Kind of got away from me. I'm working out a story that covers some things that are influencing Conner to explain a few things. That story may take a bit of time, but the short version is that Tommy's in-laws are jerks and giving him trouble, trouble Conner has opted to avoid. Thanks as always to Tatooed Librarian for the beta!

* * *

><p>Nia leaned back against the hospital bed and rested her hand on her stomach. A miscarriage. She hadn't wanted to be pregnant, but she had been excited at the thought of starting her own family with Conner. Now, she wasn't sure what was going on.<p>

"Nia?"

Nia jolted to look at the door, her dad was waiting.

"Hi Daddy," Nia said and held up a shaky hand.

"How are you sweetie?" Walter asked as he crossed the room to take her hand.

"I think I'm in shock," Nia replied and bit her lip, "I don't know. How's Conner?'

Walter frowned, "His friends are with him."

Nia smiled, "Kira and the others will support him."

"You don't think they're a little too close?" Walter asked.

"No," Nia said, "they're just friends Dad." She took a breath, "Can you not do this right now?"

"I just find it suspicious that your boyfriend was crying in someone else's arms while you were in here." Walter replied.

"Probably because hospital policy is family only," Conner said as he followed Nia's mom into the room. "Something I know you were aware of, Mister Porter. Nia, how are you?"

Nia smiled a little, "I'll be ok."

Conner walked around the bed to take Nia's other hand, "I'm glad you're ok, you scared me." He kissed her knuckles gently, "When do you get out of here anyway?"

"Overnight observation," Nia replied.

"You won't be staying," Walter said curtly.

Conner straightened, his face becoming frighteningly blank, "Mister Porter, I do not understand your hostility. I expected some resistance to meeting you, given the circumstances, but I thought you accepted me, even if you didn't like me yet."

"That was before I saw you in the waiting room," Walter replied.

Conner nodded slightly, "Because a girl and a guy can't just be friends without sex, right? God forbid members of the opposite sex want to spend time together without it being about romance." He let go of Nia's hand, frowning. Walter opened his mouth and Conner laughed bitterly, "Apparently a business major that plays soccer isn't good enough for Nia if he's friends with a girl. I'll be back in three days."

"Conner?" Nia asked.

"I'm not going to let my in-laws challenge my very being because I can't be completely honest," Conner said, "I'd already gotten the ball rolling before I came down here, but it'll roll faster if I'm running the paperwork around." He leaned over and kissed Nia firmly. "I love you; I'm not going to leave because of this. I'll be back in three days." He looked at Walter, then at Nia's mom, "Mrs. Porter."

/…\\\

Conner looked across the office, "Are you ready?" He asked.

Carter grinned, "I should be asking you that." He handed a folder to Conner, "how are you planning to do this?"

Conner grinned, "Trent rented out a room at Nia's favorite restaurant. The plan is to explain everything, and then, if they don't run screaming out of the restaurant, I'll propose."

"What about security?" Carter asked.

"Nick is going to do some silencing spells on the room, and Jason and Zack are taking their ladies out to dinner, that gives us a lawyer, a psychiatrist, two CIA agents and three Rangers outside. Trent, Kira, Ethan and Doctor O will be in the room. Tori is babysitting Lexi and Leigh."

"Tori must be making a mint," Carter said with a grin.

"The twins like Tori," Conner replied, "and she's teaching them some basic self defense."

"Aren't they young for that?" Carter asked.

"They turn invisible," Conner said, "Tori's teaching them how to use that if they have to hide. They're calling it special seeking."

Carter nodded, "Well, good luck, Conner. I hope you get what you want."

"You and me both," Conner replied, standing up.

/…\\\

Nia followed her parents into the restaurant where Conner would meet them. Her brother Brian cradled her arm, "Are you ok?" Brian murmured.

"I'm fine," Nia replied.

"We have a reservation," Regina said smoothly as the hostess, "I believe it's under McKnight?"

The hostess smiled, "You must be the Porters, correct?"

"We are," Regina agreed.

"This way," the hostess said. She led them through the dining room to one of the private banquet rooms.

Nia glanced around and hesitated as she recognized some of the diners, but when Brian squeezed her arm, she kept walking.

In the banquet room, Nia found Conner's friends, Kira, Ethan and Trent, as well as his mentor, Doctor Oliver. As she took in the rest of the room, Nia froze, because Conner was standing in a corner talking to a man who could have been his mirror. As she gasped Conner looked up and smiled, "Nia," he said and gripped the other man by the arm, "Finally, this is Eric."

"Nice to meet you," Eric said, offering his hand.

"You to," Nia said with a smile, "Conner said, but I didn't believe you were identical."

Eric grinned, "You wouldn't be the only one."

"Mr. and Mrs. Porter," Conner continued, "my brother Eric. You've met Kira, Ethan and Trent of course. This is Doctor Oliver, my mentor."

"What is going on?" Walter asked.

"Dad," Nia said firmly. "Conner, this is Brian, my brother."

"Nice to meet you," Conner said.

"You to," Brian replied.

"Is this everyone?" Doctor Oliver asked.

"Yes," Conner said, looking nervous suddenly. "If everyone could have a seat, there's something we need to talk about before we eat."

Nia jumped as the doors were shut behind them. "What's going on?" Nia asked.

Conner smiled, "No more secrets." He walked over to the table and picked up a folder, "you all have an option. You can sign these papers and I'll explain the secrets. If you chose not to, you can walk back out those doors. But there is a price."

"What price?" Walter asked suspiciously.

"Should Nia chose to stay," Conner said, "we'll become distant, things that we could have shared would no longer be an option."

Doctor Oliver cleared his throat, "Given the effort needed to get this clearance in the first place, if you refuse to sign then we may not get that clearance at a later date."

"I'll sign," Nia said, she smiled at Conner, "I refuse to believe that you could tell me anything that would make me leave."

"That's what you think," Ethan muttered.

"Ethan," Kira said.

"So, why are all of you here?" Brian asked.

"We're part of it," Kira replied calmly.

"I'll sign," Regina said, stepping forward, "I have a question or two."

Conner coughed and blushed, "What?" Doctor Oliver asked.

"Remember when Nick and I went on that road trip?" Conner said, "We ended up in Angel Grove."

"Jason bailed you out," Doctor Oliver nodded.

"Mrs. Porter arrested me," Conner said.

Doctor Oliver turned to Regina and offered his hand, "I am so sorry that you had to see that."

Regina laughed, "It's not the worst thing I've seen."

"I'll sign," Brian announced, "although I reserve the right to beat the crap out of you if you hurt my sister."

Conner chuckled, "If I hurt her, I'd let you."

Walter reached out, "Let me read this first."

Conner handed over the paper and fidgeted as Walter read it. Finally, Walter looked at Conner, "This must be one hell of a secret."

"We certainly think so," Conner replied. Walter signed the paper and Nia saw a look of joy cross Conner's face for a brief moment. Then he gestured, "Have a seat everyone. This shouldn't take too long."

As they found seats, Conner began to pace, "You ok man?" Ethan asked.

"Finding a starting point," Conner replied.

"First day of school," Kira said.

Conner tilted his head a little then nodded, "Good a place as any." He smiled at Nia, "My first day of senior year was unforgettable. That was the day Doctor O became our science teacher and Principal Randall arrived on the scene." He grinned at Doctor O, "Of course, I wasn't around for Doctor O's big debut, I was too busy being 'The Great Conner McKnight, Soccer Star' and I cut class to play soccer. Needless to say, I was busted and given detention. Thing is, I didn't have detention alone."

Kira coughed, "Randall decided to bust me for playing my guitar during break, called it a performance without permission."

"And I," Ethan said, "hacked the school's sprinkler system and set them off during the middle of the same break."

"She caught you because you were happy and carrying an umbrella," Kira said.

Ethan nodded at her.

"So Randall, for reasons unknown, assigned Doctor O to oversee detention," Conner continued smoothly "and since Doctor O wanted to go check out a museum, Randall told him to take us with him."

"The museum was closed," Doctor O said, "so I distracted these three delinquents by sending them off to look for fossils while I tried to figure out what was going on."

"Ethan started to tell us stories about the woods around the museum," Conner said, "about how there were these sinkholes that went on for miles."

"Then we fell down one of those sinkholes," Kira cut in, "it's like Ethan's superpower to comment on something and have it happen, but not in a 'Captain Obvious' sort of way."

"Unable to climb out," Conner said, "we followed a tunnel we found to a large dinosaur fossil. Given Doctor O's promise of canceling detention for a fossil, I tried to grab the jaw, only to open a hidden door." He sat down, "Beyond the door was a lair of sorts, filled with advanced and alien technology. Sitting in the middle of the room was a giant rock with three glowing gems."

"Even though we did suggest otherwise," Kira said, "Conner picked one up, and then we did to."

The trio tugged back their sleeves and held out their dino gem bracelets. "What we didn't know then," Conner said, "was that these gems were linked to a great Power. They did one thing specifically; they granted us access to that Power." Conner took a deep breath, "Nia," he smiled at her; "you once asked me who my favor Ranger was. I told you it was the Red Dino Thunder Ranger and I led you to believe that it was because I came from Reefside. The truth is, my favorite Ranger is what it is because, as self-absorbed as this may sound, I am the Red Dino Thunder Ranger. Kira, Ethan, Trent and Doctor O are my teammates." He tugged his sleeve back down and stared at Nia, "That's why I'm so close to Kira, when you're in the business of saving each other's lives, you become insanely close. I never felt anything romantically for Kira beyond about twenty minutes of 'hot chick must date' that first day. She's just my teammate, my best friend, someone I have and will trust with my life and she happens to be a woman."

"You're a Power Ranger?" Brian said after a moment.

"I am," Conner replied, "I'd prove it, but we drained our morphers to defeat Mesogog. The gems are pretty much high tech communicators and locators now."

"You're all Power Rangers," Nia said faintly.

"I'm not," Eric offered, "If this is the reason you're not talking to the parents anymore."

"No," Conner said, "I'm not talking to them because I don't like them. I'm very tired of the 'college is a waste of time, do something useful' speech they've been giving for the past year."

"Your parents don't know about this?" Walter asked finally.

Kira raised her hand, "My dad does. He figured it out while we were active though."

Ethan snorted, "My parents wouldn't guess in a million years. I'd only tell them if I had to."

Trent shrugged, "My dad knows, but there were circumstances."

Doctor Oliver shook his head, "It's possible my parents know, but we all tend to maintain the polite fiction on the subject. If they didn't figure it out right after I became a Ranger, then they would have known when I found my brother. He knows who I am, but there wasn't really a choice."

"How long have you been a Ranger?" Regina asked.

Doctor Oliver ducked his head for a moment, "Nineteen ninety-three to be precise."

"You're an original?" Brian asked, glancing at Nia.

"Depends," Doctor Oliver said contemplatively, "on whom you consider an original. Am I one of the first five, no. I was the Green Ranger."

"Wasn't the Green Ranger evil?" Brian asked.

"Technically, yes," Doctor Oliver replied, "but I was under a mind control spell at the time. Given that I would go on to serve as the White and Red Rangers, I believe my mentor found something in me that was worthwhile."

"You were the Red Ranger," Nia said, pointing at Conner, "I'm going to guess that Kira was yellow and Trent was white."

"Good job," Kira said, "Ethan is blue and Doctor O was black. He's secretly trying to become the first Ranger to fit every color."

"You are spending too much time with Ashley," Doctor Oliver said, "you never acted like that before you met the other yellows."

Kira smiled sweetly, "No, I was worse."

"So you're a Power Ranger," Brian said, pointing at Conner, "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Mostly nothing since we've won the battle," Conner said. "I mean, I'm expected to make sure Kira, Trent and Ethan don't get into too much trouble, and I might be called in by our Elder or Senior Rangers to stand witness to a ceremony and, of course, there are certain traditions that Red Rangers have to uphold."

"Is that what you call it when you kidnap a new Red Ranger and go on a drunken joyride?" Doctor Oliver asked casually.

Conner blushed a bright red, "No, sir." He glanced at Regina, "That may or may not have been the backstory to our first meeting. Although technically he joined me of his own free will."

"Please," Regina said, "tell me more."

"I met the Mystic Red Ranger by chance, we started drinking and the next thing I know I've got a hangover in the Angel Grove City Jail with a public indecency and drunk and disorderly. We may not have had charges pressed against us, but that does not mean we didn't pay for our actions."

Doctor Oliver chuckled, "I do say that Eric's car was a work of genius."

"We were drunk, it was a good idea at the time," Conner shrugged.

"There are two more things before we can eat," Conner said. "The first is this, when we bonded to the Dino Gems, we got some special abilities. I have hyper speed, Kira has a sonic scream, Ethan has armored skin, Trent is a chameleon and Doctor O turns invisible." He grinned at them, "Remember when Doctor O's twins were lost in the hotel?"

Nia nodded, "Yes," she said.

"Apparently they have their dad's invisibility and vanished, freaking out everybody." Ethan said, "which means that any children we have will also have a chance at our abilities. We've done some DNA testing that shows there is a chance. Not just for us Dino Thunders, but any Ranger with a propensity for a special ability."

"Our child," Nia said.

Conner leaned over and gripped Nia's hands, "It's possible our son could have had the ability to use super speed. Any child we have could have that propensity, and they'll have a greater chance of earning a morpher of their own."

Nia squeezed Conner's hands tightly for a long moment, then she nodded, "I can accept that. I guess it's how we can know we're raising them right."

Conner smiled and stood up, walking around the table, "There was one other thing I needed to say," he said as he walked up to Nia. "I hope that by explaining things, your father will find me acceptable, but I really don't care." He knelt down, "Nia, I accept your family, but, I'm hoping that you would agree," he pulled a small black box from behind his back, "to become my wife. We're surviving what could conceivably be the worst days of our lives, and I would like you to be there on the best days."

Nia stared at her boyfriend, aware suddenly at how quiet the room was. Conner's dark eyes latched onto hers, like he was pleading for the right answer. "Yes," Nia managed, reaching for him, "yes, I want those best days too."

Conner grinned, the brilliant, genuine smile that she treasured, and he opened the ring box to let her see the ring, it was a simple, almost plain gold band with a diamond solitaire. It was perfect.


End file.
